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Sunday, June 15, 2014

NBA Finals Chronicles, Sunday June 15

I will be writing a live blog during tonight's Game 5 as I watch what I think will be a fairly dominant Heat victory. I simply don't see the Heat allowing themselves to go down so easily, especially after being embarrassed in the last two games at home. As I said yesterday, there's still a very good chance that the Spurs will win the series with their next opportunity in Game 6.

Dwyane Wade has looked awful in this series. His total lack of defensive effort along with his overall poor offense has been one of the many factors in his team's struggles to this point. He looks tired and unhealthy. I don't know if that's simply him breaking down or something else that's happening. Either way, I expect to see him give everything he has tonight, as he supports LeBron James, and those two break down San Antonio's defense.

James will have the ball in his hands all night, playing the point. He'll be aggressive from the beginning in terms of scoring. One thing to watch out for is his confidence in his jump shot early. The Spurs will of course be giving him the perimeter from the opening tip. He'll challenge that strategy. If he's knocking down shots with regularity, he's going to have an amazing game, and can score as many as 60 points. That doesn't mean that he'll continue to settle as the game goes along. Once he knows he has his shooting ability to use as a weapon all night, he'll be aggressive in driving to the hoop, not only to score, but to draw fouls and open up the perimeter for others. That's where Wade comes in. In recent years, he's been one of the best players in the NBA off the ball, as his constant cuts to open space lead to most of his points. There will be a lot of that tonight.

Also look out for Chris Bosh, as his ability to knock down the open mid range shot tonight will be a key.

Don't think I'm forgetting the Spurs here. While I'm not predicting them to win, there's obviously still a chance that they close it out. Once again their role players will attempt to take over the game from the beginning offensively, and if they are able to do so, the Spurs will be celebrating with the Larry O'Brien trophy tonight.